Alids - Lines of Descent

Lines of Descent

Primarily Sunnis in the Arab world reserve the term sharif or "sherif" for descendants of Hasan ibn Ali, while sayyid is used for descendants of Husayn ibn Ali. Both Hasan and Husayn are grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, through the marriage of his cousin Ali and his daughter Fatima. However ever since the post-Hashemite era began, the term sayyid has been used to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn. Arab Shiites use the terms sayyid and habib to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn; see also ashraf.

To try to resolve the confusion surrounding the descendants of Muhammad, the Ottoman Caliphs during the 19th Century C.E. attempted to replicate the Almanach de Gotha (the tome listing the Noble houses of Europe) to show known and verifiable lines of descent. Although not 100% complete in its scope (some lines might have been excluded due to lack of proof, although no false lines are included) the resulting 'Kitab al-Ashraf (Book of the Sharifs), kept at the Topkapi Palace (Museum) in Istanbul is one of the best sources of evidence of descent from Muhammad.

There are several dynasties of Alid origin:

• The Zaydid dynasty of Tabaristan are descents of Ali ibn Abi Talib. His son, Hasan ibn Ali, has a son named Zayd ibn Hasan who gave name to the dynasty. Hasan ibn Zayd was the son of Zayd who gave origin to the Zaydids in Tabaristan.

• The Ukhaydhirite dynasty which ruled Najd in central Arabia from 862 C.E. till the mid-11th century traced its lineage to Ali through his son Al-Hassan.

• The Sulaymanid dynasty of Yemen has origin in Hasan ibn Hasan, brother of Zayd ibn Hasan (see Zaydid dynasty above). Hasan has a son named Daud ibn Hasan, who was Sulayman ibn Daud's father, who the dynasty is named after.

• The Alid dynasty of Yemen originated with Hasan ibn Hasan, brother of Zayd ibn Hasan (see Zaydid dynasty above). Hasan has a son named Ibrahim ibn Hasan, that has a son called Ismail ibn Ibrahim, father of Ibrahim Tabataba ibn Ismail. Tabataba was father of Kassim al Rassi, originally of the dynasty of imams of Yemen.

• The Alid Dynasty of the Isaaq clan or Banu Isaaq clan of Somalia, who are descended from Ali through their ancestor Isaaq ibn Ahmad al Hashimi. Today, the Isaaq clan form the majority of the northern territory of Somaliland.

• The Alid dynasty of Sharifs of Sousse (Tunisia) originated with Hasan ibn Hasan, brother of Zayd ibn Hasan (see Zaydid dynasty above). Hasan has a son named Abdallah ibn Hasan, who has a son called Djafar ibn Abdallah. This Djafar ibn Abdallah, grandson of Hasan ibn Hasan, began this dynasty.

• The Alid dynasty of Sharifs of Morocco (the Alaouite dynasty dynasty ) began also with Hassan ibn Hassan, brother of Zayd ibn Hasan. Its first member was Muhammad ibn Abdallah, brother of Djafar ibn Abdallah (see above).

• The founder of the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco was Idris ibn Abdallah. He was the brother of Djafar ibn Abdallah (see above).
• The Hammudid dynasty of Algeciras, Málaga, Sevilla and Kingdom of Granada has same origin. Their ancestor, Hammud, was a descendant of Idris ibn Abdallah.

• The Banu Katuda/Hashemites, Sharifs of Mecca and Kings of Jordan, Kings of Iraq, Kings of Hejaz, Kings of Syria, have origin in Musa ibn Abdallah, brother of Idris ibn Abdallah (se above). Musa has a son named Abdallah ibn Musa, father of Musa ibn Abdallah ibn Musa, who began this dynasty. From this branch also came the Banu Fulayta.

• The Alid Dynasty of the Muse clan or Banu Muse clan of Somalia, who are descended from Ali through there ancestor Muse ibn Mohammed al Hashimi. Today, the Muse clan formed the minority of the northern territory of Somaliland.

• The Banu Salih of the old state of Ghana originated in Salih ibn Abdallah, brother of Musa ibn Abdallah ibn Musa (see above).

• The Sulaymanid dynasty of Sharifs of La Mecca originated in Sulayman ibn Abdallah, brother of Salih ibn Abdallah (see above).

• The Fatimid Caliphs (Later the Ismaili imams of Alamut) who are descended from Husayn ibn Ali, son of Ali ibn Abi Talib. The line was:

Ali ibn Abi Talib,

Husayn ibn Ali,

Ali Zayn al Abidin ibn Husayun,

Muhammad el Bakir ibn Ali,

Djafar el Sadik ibn Muhammad,

Ismail ibn Djafar,

Muhammad ibn Ismail,

Ahmad al-Wafi ibn Muhammad,

Taqi Muhammad ibn Muhammad,

Rabi Abdullah az-Zaki ibn Muhammad and

Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah.

• The Safavids dynasty who are descended from Husayn ibn Ali, son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, sharing the first five original rulers with the Fatimids (compare the indented names). The Safavid dynasty family tree shows part of this. The line was:

Ali ibn Albi Talib,

Husayn ibn Ali,

Ali Zayn al Abidin ibn Husayun,

Muhammad el Bakir ibn Ali,

Djafar el Sadik ibn Muhammad,

Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim,

Hamzah ibn Musa,

Mohammad al-Qasim ibn Hamzah ,

Ahmed ibn Mohammad,

Mohamed ibn Ahmed ,

Ismail ibn Mohamed,

Ja'far ibn Ismail,

Ibrahim ibn Ja'far ,

Mohamed ibn Ibrahim ,

Ali ibn Mohamed,

Mohamed ibn Mohamed,

Feroz Shah ibn Mohamed,

Awoad ibn Feroz Shah ,

Mohamed ibn Awoad ,

Rashid ibn Mohamed,

Ahmed ibn Rashid ,

Gabriel ibn Ahmed,

Isaac ibn Gabriel ,

Safi al-Din ibn Isaac,

Sadruddin ibn Safi al-Din ,

Ali ibn Sadruddin,

Ibrahim ibn Ali,

Sadruddin ibn Ibrahim,

Haider ibn Sadruddin,

Shah Ismail Safavid ibn Haider.